


Push and pull like a magnet do

by coldflashwavebaby



Series: Barry Mardon [4]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Confusion, First Kiss, Grief/Mourning, Guess who's back in this story?, I'm probably more excited than you, Is it a triangle if one of the relationships is poly?, Love Triangles, M/M, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2019-03-05 04:07:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13379841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coldflashwavebaby/pseuds/coldflashwavebaby
Summary: On one hand, Eddie was a speedster, like him. He understood Barry, and made him feel special and like he wasn’t alone anymore. He could picture himself being happy with Eddie.But then, there was Len and Mick.





	Push and pull like a magnet do

**Author's Note:**

> I think this one is shorter, but the next one is going to be really angsty, and I think Eobard is going to make an appearance, so I didn't want to cram too much in one story. This is kind of a bridge into that. \
> 
> Enjoy!

“I feel like I need to get paid extra for this one.”

            Barry pulled his sneaker off of his foot and poured a good pound of sand onto the floor of Singh’s office. The police captain snorted.

            “He wasn’t called ‘Sand Demon’ for nothing, Barry.” He reached into the desk to pull out his checkbook. “I assume you’ve found a way to hold him?”

            “I found a way to _stop_ him.” Barry held up his hand, showing off the electricity crackling through his fingers. Eddie had taught him how to harness his lightning like a weapon. They’d been hanging around each other more and more—Eddie teaching him some speed tricks, Barry giving Eddie the rundown on the different characters that frequented his bar since he’d only had it a little while after all, and Barry knew almost everyone who walked through the door.

            He wasn’t sure, but he thought Eddie was actually _flirting_ with him. That thought gave Barry a strange feeling in his stomach. On one hand, Eddie was a speedster, like him. He understood Barry, and made him feel special and like he wasn’t alone anymore. He could picture himself being happy with Eddie.

            But then, there was Len and Mick. He’d already known that he had budding feelings for the detectives, whether he wanted them or not, but it was just getting worse. Since he moved in with Lisa and Jesse, it was like he couldn’t get away from them.

            Almost every night, Lisa invited them over for dinner, prompted conversations that would force the three of them to talk, and then, when she suggested they sit on the couch and watch a movie, she and Jesse would both get ‘tired’ halfway through and go to bed, leaving him alone with the objects of his affection.

            It was frustrating—both mentally and sexually, because there was no way the detectives wanted him back. Yet, they’d sit on either side of him, Len throwing his arm over the back of the couch and Mick, every time, without fail, gradually melting into the couch until his head was resting on Barry’s lap as they watched whatever film they put on.

            It drove him up the wall. He felt like he was living some strange double life—one where he was Barry Mardon, speedster bounty hunter, and another where he was just Barry, a normal young adult trying to find himself.

            “Not like you to take the metas out,” Singh spoke up, breaking though Barry’s thoughts. “I thought you were about protecting them.”

            “He was a murderer,” Barry explained. “He didn’t care who got hurt or who died, even if they were innocent people. I didn’t have a choice.”

            Singh shrugged. “You don’t have to explain it to me. That’s the life of a cop.” He ripped the check free and handed it off. Barry grabbed it to take it, but Singh didn’t let go. “You know, you have no record, Barry. And, whatever questionable warrants you may have can be taken care of. We could use a meta cop on the force, if you’re interested.”

            He released the paper so he could reach into one of his desk drawers and pull out a form. He laid it in front of Barry.

            It was an application to the police academy.

            “I would put in a good word for you with the instructor. It pays a hell of a lot better than being a bounty hunter, and maybe you would be able to recruit some more metas who’d like to go straight.”

            Barry stared at the captain in shock. He opened his mouth, but the words were lost.

            “You don’t have to make a decision now,” Singh assured. “Just think about it.”

            Without a word, Barry rose to his feet, check in one hand and application in the other, and zipped out of the office. He didn’t stop until he was far away from the police station, from downtown, from everything. It took him a second before he realized he was standing outside of Eddie’s door.

            He paused, his hand already raising to knock. What if Eddie wasn’t even home? Why was Barry at his door? Why didn’t he just go back to his apartment or Saints?

            _Because Mick, Len, and the girls would try to talk you into going straight, and the guys at Saints would talk you into ripping up the application and burning it._

When had Eddie become his neutral option? The person who accepted him as he was?

            He held his breath and prepared to knock, when the door swung open. Eddie jerked in surprise. “Barry. I was about to leave…are you okay?” Hands grabbed Barry’s shoulders, and he didn’t even realize he’d started hyperventilating.

            “Barry? Barry, you need to breathe,” Eddie urged. In a split second and a flash of lightning, they were sitting on the couch. “Breathe with me, Barry. Deep breaths.”

            He listened for Eddie’s steady breathes and concentrated on following them. Out and in, out and in, until finally, he relaxed.

            “Are you okay, Bare?” Eddie’s face was full of concern. “You were having a panic attack. Did something happen?”

            Still trying to catch his breath, Barry handed the application to Eddie. As he read it over, his eyes grew wider and wider. “Police academy?”

            Barry nodded. “Singh…he wants me to apply. Says that he would vouch for me and everything.”

            He waited for some kind of outburst or nudge to tell Barry what to do. Instead, Eddie handed him back the application. “What are you going to do?”

            He…he actually hadn’t thought about that. He’d been so worried about what everyone else would say, he hadn’t even thought about what _he_ wanted to say. The honest answer was…he didn’t know. Ever since Clyde died, he’d felt like he was drifting aimlessly, unable to grab anything to pull him back down. Moving in with Jesse and Lisa helped, and so did doing his job, but sometimes, it wasn’t enough. Maybe this was what he needed—roots.

            “I don’t know,” he finally sighed, “I have no idea what to do.”

            “Do what you want,” Eddie said, shifting closer. “Not what I want, or what Mark would want, or what anyone else wants.”

            Barry’s breath caught. What did he want?

            “What is it that you want, Barry?”

            Not to think. He looked over Eddie’s caring expression, his shining eyes, his gentle smile, and he couldn’t help himself. He lunged forward, pressing their lips together. The second their lips touched, it was like lightning was surging between them. Eddie tensed for a split second, before sighing. He wrapped his arms around Barry’s waist and pulled him even closer. Barry tilted his head, letting Eddie push forward to deepen the kiss.

            It was…heavenly. Barry had kissed people before—he didn’t have a lot of experience, but he’d had a drunken make out or two in the back of a bar—but it was nothing like kissing Eddie. Was it because he was a speedster that it felt like they clicked on the most basic level, or was it just them?

            A small moan echoed between them. One of Eddie’s hands slid down Barry’s back, all the way down to the back of his thigh, and, suddenly, Barry was lying back on the couch with his legs wrapped around Eddie’s waist.

            The other hand on his waist started to slip up his shirt, when _Disco Inferno_ blasted from his back pocket. Startled, Barry jumped, throwing both himself and Eddie off the couch and onto the floor. Eddie hissed in pain, and Barry gave him an apologetic grimace as he yanked his phone out and answered it.

            “Yeah?”

            _“Hey, kid,”_ Mick’s voice said. Suddenly, Barry felt very guilty about what he’d been doing. Which was dumb—he wasn’t dating Mick or Len, and Eddie seemed more than willing. But still, it twisted at his stomach. _“I need you for a case. Think you could come by the morgue downtown?”_

Barry frowned. “Why do you need me? Is there a body I need to identify?”

            _Did you find Mark? Is he dead?_ He felt nauseous all of a sudden.

            _“Well…you’ll have to see why when you get here.”_

Barry swallowed hard. He looked back down at Eddie, pushed up on his elbows, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. He sighed. “Yeah…yeah, I’ll meet you there in a few.”

            The line went dead, and Barry jumped to his feet. “Sorry, Eddie,” he said quickly. “I…um…”

            “You have something to do,” Eddie finished for him. He pushed himself to his feet. “I understand. It’s a bit inconvenient, but I understand.”

            Barry shifted nervously from foot to foot. “Eddie, about this…”

            “You aren’t sure about it, and you’re afraid this was a mistake?”

            Barry’s jaw dropped. How did he always know?

            Eddie just smiled sadly. “A while back, I had feelings for someone, but I was afraid. I was a nervous wreck around him, would make a complete idiot of myself, and made an all-around ass of myself. Eventually, he took pity on me and we slept together. Biggest mistake of my life. Everything fell apart after that, and now we hate each other. You’re afraid something like that will happen, that something will ruin everything you’ve built.”

            He stepped into Barry’s space, grabbed his face gently, and pressed a short kiss to his lips. “I really like you, Barry. And, when you make your decision, I’ll still be here, as a friend or as more.”

            Barry just gaped like an idiot. “You…” he managed to choke out. “You are amazing. Like, too good to be true amazing.”

            A short laugh shot out of Eddie. “I know. I try. Now, I believe you have a detective to catch up with.”

            There was a split second—an eternity for speedsters—where Eddie and Barry just stared at each other in silence. Then, the lightning under Barry’s skin kicked up, and he was out the door.

0000000

            A swarm of police cars outside the morgue told Barry that there was more going on than identifying a body. He sped inside, stopping when he found Singh, Len, and Mick standing around a dead body. He stopped when he saw there was no one else in the room.

            The three jumped at his sudden arrival. “What’s going on?” He looked down at the body. It was an older man in a white lab coat. He blew out a breath when he realized the man wasn’t familiar. Unless it was Hannibal, but that was unlikely. “Who is this?”

            “The coroner,” Singh explained. “The forensic specialist says that he was bludgeoned to death.”

            Barry nodded. That would kill someone. “Ooookay. So, why am I here?”

            “We think that he was murdered by a meta,” Len said. “He was killed by dozens of balls of ice striking his torso.”

            “So, you want me to track down this metahuman?”

            Singh sighed. “It looks like he was killed by hail, Barry. There’s another weather meta on the loose.”

            Barry’s heart stopped. His stomach churned. There was only one weather meta he knew of that was still alive.

            “Doll?” He heard Mick say. A hand fell on his shoulder. “You okay? You look like you’re going to pass out.”

            He shuddered. Mark. Mark was back in town.

            “Barry, do you know anyone, besides Clyde, who has weather powers?” Singh asked. He swallowed hard and shook his head.

            “No,” he lied. “No one.”

            Singh’s eyes scanned over him for a moment before he nodded. “Alright, then. I want to hire you to help me find them, then. Ask around your circles, bring me any leads. I’ll pay you your usual rate. That okay?”

            Barry nodded, too dumbstruck to even think about what was being asked of him. He walked—actually _walked_ out of the morgue, ignoring Singh’s shouts. Barry didn’t care. Mark was back in town. It’d been months since Barry tried to get revenge for Clyde’s death. Every day since, he dwelled on what would happen when Mark found out. What he would say to Barry, what he’d do to Len.

            He took a sharp left down the alley by the morgue. His panic attack was coming back. First, he was asked to be a police officer. Now, his criminal brother was back in town and going to try to kill the police detective who he may or may not be in love with.

            He rested his forehead against the brick wall and took a deep breath, letting the cold wall ground him. He didn’t know what to do.

            “Barry?”

            He jumped at Len’s voice. The police detective was standing in the mouth of the alley, watching him with concern. How long had he been standing there?

            Barry took another deep breath. “Yeah, sorry. I just…I needed some air.”

            He gave Len what he was hoping seemed like a reassuring smile, but Len wasn’t buying it. He walked over to him. “I know that you don’t like being reminded of your brothers. I’m sorry…we forget sometimes that, even though they were just criminals to us, you’re their family. You don’t have to act like everything is okay, though. Not to me and Mick.”

            He raised a hand, pausing for a second like he wasn’t sure if Barry would flinch away, and gently cupped the side of his face. “Everything is going to be alright.”

            Barry didn’t know who leaned in. He didn’t know who started it. But suddenly, his and Len’s lips were together, their arms wrapped around each other, and Barry couldn’t breathe.

            It was soft, nice, and everything Barry had imagined. He felt a thin layer of frost cover his lips, and his hands vibrated as he pulled Len even closer.

            Len pulled away, though, panting for breath, and Barry let reality hit him.

            “ _Barry…_ ” Len gasped, but Barry stepped out of his arms.

            “I can’t, Len…” How had this happened at the WORST POSSIBLE TIME? “ _We_ can’t. You, me, Mick…it can’t work. I’m so sorry.”

            He kept backing away. Len watched silently, eyes wide with confusion. Barry ran again. It’s what he was good at, after all. He didn’t know where he was going, but he knew that he needed to get away—from Len, from Mick, from Eddie, from Singh. He ended up in the most unlikely of places—the front steps of Joe West’s house.

            The Wests hadn’t lived in Central for years. The house was still empty and, if he vibrated fast enough, Barry could move through the door.

            He stood in the empty house, reveling in the silence. He imagined his life if things had been different—if Joe had taken him in, raised him as his son. How different would his life have been? He fell to the floor, curled into the fetal position, and lost himself in the fantasy.

0000000

            The picture practically burnt his hands. He couldn’t believe what he was looking at. Barry was in the arms of a CCPD detective, kissing him vigorously. He flipped to the next picture, which was taken seconds before. Barry was staring at the man, his eyes full of love and adoration.

            Mark’s hands tightened on the picture. The paper crinkled in his hands. Leonard Snart—the police detective who murdered Clyde— _seduced_ his other brother. Did Barry know the truth? If he did, did Snart give him some excuse— _“I had to do it. There was no other choice.”_ —to convince Barry he was in the right?

            He threw the pictures to the floor. He was going to save Barry and get revenge for Clyde, no matter what it took.


End file.
